Conventional computerized devices, such as personal computers, laptop computers and data communications devices restrict user access to system executables, configuration files and directories, to prevent malicious attacks. However, it is often necessary to give users temporary elevated privileges in order to perform restricted tasks such as installing or uninstalling software packages on the users' own computers. System administrators can grant a user, or a group of users, temporary elevated privileges, through the use of privileged administrator functions or programs such as “sudo” (“superuser do”), when operating in a UNIX® environment. The utility “sudo” operates on a per-command basis, meaning the user only has to type “sudo” before executing a restricted command. For example, a user would type “sudo install.exe” to execute an otherwise restricted installation, called “install.exe”. An elevated privilege utility, such as “sudo”, gives users the ability to execute some (or all) commands while logged in as a root user on their computer. The utility “sudo” can also restrict which commands a user has access to execute. The utility “sudo” extensively logs all of the tasks performed by users while using “sudo”, giving system administrators a clear audit trail of all activities users performed by users while using the “sudo” utility.